Available Astrophysics or Astronomy Master Scholarships

[ecastro]

What is the best, if not great, scholarship for a master (graduate) in Astrophysics or Astronomy? I have been looking around the internet, but I am not sure if the scholarships I have seen will allow me to study Astrophysics, and most of them have their deadlines passed.

I'm also planning to study as soon as possible, maybe this coming school year.

 

[eri]

Where are you planning to study? Why are you only looking for a masters degree? Most applications were due in the late fall for programs starting this coming fall.

 

[Lavabug]

I'm going to make an educated guess and assume the OP is European.

I am afraid you are out of luck. American phd programs are not taking applications at this stage. European programs in general don't offer funding for masters and this is a requirement for to get a phd studentship in the vast majority of EU universities (that and 3-year residency requirements, if it's in the UK). Perhaps look into the DAAD scholarships for masters programs in Germany, but I warn you these are fiercely competitive.

The last masters/mentorship program with funding that was available until recently was APS bridge program for minorities, deadline was a few days ago. I applied just in the nick of time but I'm not sure they got my rec letters by the closing date.

I'm in the same situation, didn't get into grad programs with funding (couldn't afford to apply to many) and can't afford a masters by a long shot. I'm afraid the only thing we can do at this stage is study our asses off for the next GRE's, assuming you want to go to grad school in the US.

 

[PhotonTrail]

I believe this program is funded. http://www.astromundus.eu/
But the deadline's already over.

 

[Lavabug]

I believe this program is funded. http://www.astromundus.eu/
But the deadline's already over.

That's right. Plus the Erasmus consortium is very likely cutting back on funding due to the austerity measures most EU countries are going through. In my case I know my country is no longer offering supplemental support scholarships for Erasmus exchanges for undergrads, all you get now is the portion the EU provides (a stipend of 100€ a month), so I would be surprised if scholarships for that program existed by next year.

Edit: I think the IAC (Instituto Astrofísico de Canarias in Spain) is still offering funded "resident" grants for people wishing to do coursework + a phd with them. These are really competitive (less than 6 positions for all of the EU). It might require a masters beforehand if you didn't do a 4-5 year bachelors in Spain though, but be sure to check.

You might also want to ask advisers that you know well at your undergrad university if they have any work-study/assistantship programs that would allow you to cover masters tuition costs, if you like the MS at your undergrad. These are rare but I know they're out there and they're typically not advertised much.

 

[ecastro]

I'm planning to study in Europe as much as possible (I always liked Europe , but anywhere is possible. I currently in the Philippines, so I need an International Scholarship. So, I guess I need to wait for the 2014 scholarships?

 

[Lavabug]

I think only Germany has scholarships for internationals wanting to do a masters. You might want to look into scholarships in your own country for such a thing, there aren't many options in the EU afaik. You'd probably have a better shot to get a funded position of some sort in the US (for a masters enroute to phd) than in Europe, provided you get some research experience and good GRE and TOEFL scores by Oct/November. You can probably find some funded opportunities around Europe like astromundus (which I think you can only apply for if you're a EU citizen) or universities that have their own money to fund students (as opposed to government scholarships), but these are very rare and in general extremely competitive.

Try applying for the Fulbright scholarship as well.